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After another KO win, Gennady Golovkin focused on Canelo Alvarez

Gennady Golovkin (AP Photo)
Gennady Golovkin (AP Photo)

After Gennady Golovkin's second-round decimation of Dominic Wade on Saturday, calls from fight fans for a showdown with Canelo Alvarez grew in intensity. And to add fuel to the fire, GGG plans on sitting ringside for Canelo’s upcoming fight with Amir Khan on May 7.

“He will be in Las Vegas for that fight,” Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler said. “He is not going to go in the ring to call [Canelo] out. He is going there to see who wins the fight.”

Golovkin has been patiently waiting for a showdown with the sport’s next big pay-per-view attraction in Alvarez. It appeared that their paths were set to cross when Alvarez claimed the WBC middleweight title against Miguel Cotto in November as the unbeaten Golovkin – the current WBA (Super), IBF, IBO and WBC interim middleweight titleholder – has been adamant about unifying the titles. However, there have been roadblocks for this potential fight.

Alvarez has been persistent in his refusal to face GGG at 160 pounds, even though the WBC middleweight title is to be fought at a limit of 160. Alvarez and Cotto agreed to meet at 155 for the title but Canelo has since remained firm that Golovkin would need to come down in weight to face him. With Alvarez opting to face Khan, a welterweight moving up to junior middleweight, Golovkin ended up being left with Dominic Wade, the mandatory to his IBF middleweight title.

Golovkin made short work of Wade in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night as he floored the previously unbeaten fighter a trio of times to get the second-round stoppage. It was GGG’s 22nd consecutive knockout victory and has only added to his legend. However, the biggest criticism is the lack of stars that Golovkin has stepped into the ring with. That can certainly be rectified if Canelo gets past Khan in May and chooses to face Golovkin later this year.

While Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo have sidestepped the question of when Canelo will fight GGG, Golovkin has not minced words about his intentions.

“I’m ready to fight everybody, but, of course, I want to fight Canelo,” he said during the post-fight news conference.

Loeffler has also expressed interest in making the fight with Canelo but doesn’t want to wait around for it.

“Gennady wants to fight three times this year, so if Canelo doesn’t want to fight, he’ll lose the WBC title and we’ll find someone else,” Loeffler said. “Hopefully, Golovkin can fight in the summer and fall this year. There are other names out there at middleweight such as [WBO champ] Billy Joe Saunders and Daniel Jacobs.”

But with the target being Canelo, GGG will be seated a few feet from him on May 7. Even if he doesn’t say anything, his presence will be felt.

“That is not my style,” Golovkin said of calling out Canelo in Las Vegas. “He knows, I know, everybody knows the situation.”